Once upon a time, not too long ago, there lived an old magician. He bought an old mansion of the outskirts of town, and in the day he would come to the town square to perform magic shows. No one knew what his real name was, but he calls himself K, and his daily show was called Mad Magic. Children loved him, because he never failed to amuse them with his quirky accent and marvelous tricks, but the adults were doubtful about his tricks.

It was just another usual day, when the children would excitedly skip to the town square and await the appearance of the magician.

Today, however, was a special day. The mayor was coming down personally to watch, for he had heard from his 6-year-old daughter that this magician could do fascinating things, and he would like to see them for himself.

The children had said that he was very entertaining, for his tricks included not just classics like the bunny-in-the-hat trick, but also stunts that would make them sit on the edge of their seats, anticipating whatever that was going to happen next.

Last week, he had just made the grumpy Mrs. Smith disappear, and the children were more than thrilled when he also made the stingy Mr. McFadden vanish into thin air. Life for the kids have been better without the grumpy old lady telling the children to get off her front porch, and the miserly convenience store owner making sure they gave the exact amount of money for their item. The mayor was curious to find out whether he was really that marvelous.

He appeared, as usual, in a ball of smoke and the children cheered. What an extraordinary little man he was! He had a black top hat on his head, and he wore a tailcoat made of beautiful plum-coloured velvet. His trousers were bottle green; his gloves were pearly grey, and in one hand he carried a fine magic wand. Covering his chin, there was a small neat pointed black goatee. His eyes were most marvelously bright - they seemed to be sparkling and twinkling all the time. The whole face, in fact, was alight with fun and laughter.

On seeing the special guest in the audience, he bowed gracefully, beaming from ear to ear, to welcome the mayor. Of course, the mayor, reciprocated the kind gesture with a warm smile.

He started his show, this time however, with new tricks that none has ever seen before, leaving the audience totally mind-blown at the end of every trick.

At last, came the grand finale! He needed help with this, and this time, the mayor had gladly volunteered. Following the instructions of the magician, he obediently stepped into the box placed in the middle of the stage and the lid was closed. On the cue of his wand, the children chanted the magic spell in unison, and when the lid was once again open, the box was empty! He had made the mayor disappear into thin air. Everyone did not know how to react. The mayor was an exceptionally nice one, unlike those evil and money-faced ones in other towns, and he had always tried his best to help his people.

The adults were enraged by such an act, and they stopped their children from ever going to the town square to watch his shows. The children cried, whined, threw a tantrum, but the adults knew better than not to let the children out, lest they become his next victim.

The town formed a mob to go and kill the magician. They succeeded in murdering him, but his body vanished afterwards.

He was never heard of again, and his house was abandoned from then on.

Over the next 80 years several people supposedly vanish into, or around the old, dilapidated mansion. Many stories have risen involving the place, and all the kids scare each other with tales of the evil magician's mansion. Parents keep their kids in line with it — he's the local Boogeyman.

“Eat your vegetables!” The middle-aged woman tapped the young boy’s plate with her chopsticks.

“They taste horrible mom.” He whined and made a disgusted face at the greens that were left untouched in a lonely corner of his plate.

“Eat it! Or else Mr. K from the haunted house will come and take you away!” She threatened.

The young boy’s eyes widened to infinity as soon as The Name was mentioned. Immediately, he gobbled down the remaining food and tried to eradicate the horrible aftertaste of it by downing his entire cup of water.

“Good boy.” The middle-aged woman patted his head. “You can go out and play now.”

He was more than happy to jump out of the wooden chair and dash to the porch, where his friends were waiting for him.

Comfortably sprawled on the sofa, a boy and a girl were jabbing the controls of their respective Xbox 360 remote controllers as they breezed through the Campaign mode of Halo: Reach. It is probably the millionth time they’ve played this mission, but somehow they can never get sick of the fun and laughter that comes out of such a simple FPS game.

“You know, I still can’t believe you actually believed your mom just like that.” Amber chuckled as she shot down a few enemies.

“Yah! I was only 6 at that time and plus, the way she said it was so convincing!” Henry whined and he fired a shot at Amber’s character and she flopped to the ground and died.

“Dude! What was that for?” She exclaimed. “You’re supposed to shoot the enemy, not me!”

“You were going to die anyway, so I might as well have the honour of having the kill shot.” He defended as he continued shooting the monsters which were relentlessly jumping at him. He yelped as a sharp pain was felt in his torso.

“And that, was for the friendly fire.” She smirked at him as he gave her a supposed ‘death glare’. 

Amber’s character respawned at the checkpoint and she hurried across the field to join Henry.

“I can totally imagine you gulping down your veggies with that scared face!” Once again she erupted into another fit of laughter as the imagery of such a scene popped into her mind. Henry decided to be a man and ignored her as she continued with her childish behaviour.

Suddenly she stopped laughing. “Actually, have you ever wondered whether Mr. K exists?” Her voice became uncharacteristically serious.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged as he fired the last shot at the boss monster.

It was, again, the all-too-familiar cutscene that they have watched over and over again every time they completed the mission. The helicopter picking them up, then the captain saying some congratulatory words, before introducing their next mission to them – in fact, they have more or less memorised all of the cutscenes.

“Don’t you want to find out?” Amber asked, and both of them turned to each other, only to be followed by a moment of silence between them.

‘Good luck on your mission!’

They turned back to the screen as their onscreen characters were being dropped off from the helicopter into the cold grey surroundings.

“Maybe? I don’t know, it seems scary though. Like there’s an evil aura around it,” came a late reply from Henry, who just ducked an attack from a monster.

Amber stepped in and shot the monster down. “I wanna know whether it’s really haunted though.”

They cleared the checkpoint and proceeded to the next arena. “You can go by yourself then,” he gave her a glance, “Fearless One.”

“By any chance, you actually believe that it’s haunted?” She probed, her tone more like a challenge than a question.

“O-Of course not!” He retaliated, dealing a fatal shot to the humongous creature that jumped in front of them.

“Then be a man and we’ll go there tonight!” She ducked down as the monster swung his axe where her head used to be.

“B-But… fine.” He finally surrendered and after a few more strategic shots aimed at the creature’s weak points — they’re all too clear about every monster’s weaknesses having played it so many times — the creature dropped to the ground.

The usual post-game screen of each character’s stats flashed on the wide 60-inch LCD screen and Amber punched a triumphant fist into the air. “Ha! I did that last kill shot! Too bad for you!” She stuck her tongue out at him. Her character was way ahead of him in terms of rank. “You have a lot of catching-up to do!” She mocked as she grabbed her bag.

“Anyway, it’s 5 already. I need to leave. I’ll meet you at 1, at the big tree on the edge of town. Don’t chicken out!” And within the next second, she was already out of the door.

The night was chilly and the obscurity of the night was augmented by an eerie silence. The distant yowl of a cat at the of the witching hour sent shivers down Henry’s spine as he made his way to the giant bottle tree. He did not have a good feeling about this, and the frosty wind did nothing to alleviate it.

“You’re exactly 3 minutes late dude!” She slapped him on his back before leaning in to him. “Did you chicken out?” She breathed on his face.

Henry felt his hair stand all over his body but he coughed and she drew back a little. “No, there was just a bit of a… situation at home.”

“Let’s go!” Amber picked up her bag and headed in the direction of the supposed-haunted mansion.

As they stood, gazing at the dilapidated house, she shivered, as though, ice had replaced her spine. The cold air enveloped her entire body. The multiple layers of clothing could not protect against the deathly cold. The walkway leading up to house was cracked, accessorised with weeds and dandelions that poked out from these cracks. Red roses grew wildly in thick batches by the gate. The moonlight cast a ghoulish glow on the house. Vines formed a twisted maze upon the side of house, reaching their tentacles towards the roof. The house's walls showed black decay by neglect. Splotches of original paint hinted at the house former glory. Cobwebs covered the corners of the doors, tiny black spiders threading towards their prey.

They approached the house tentatively, and everything around them became quieter and more distant. A group of gloomy willow trees stood by the house, swaying in the wind. The leafless trees looked as if they had been slashed with a knife, deep crevices penetrating the bark. As the cold wind swept through the trees, the trees whispered into the air and their surroundings. The moon had risen high in the cloudless sky — bright yellow, like the eyes of a werewolf.

Henry could feel the unevenness of the pathway beneath, a broken, washed-up walkway from many years before. The odd sound of dead leaves crunching echoed in the distance with each step they took heightening their senses. Something told them, they were not alone. She reached out to touch the heavy black iron bars of the gate. The iron bars were as cold as ice and it seemed to away all the warmth of her body. Her heart seized up as chills made their way up and down her spine.

The gate swung open screeching a cold welcome, weakening their valor. Undeterred, they ventured further into the front porch of the house.

The house exuded an aura of evil and foreboding in the moonlight. An augury of maliciousness awaited those who would dare to approach the concrete steps that led to the screen door, which swung loose in the wind, banging loudly, as though beseeching them not to come any closer. The wind whistled eerily and sharply, a chilling imitation of . The loose, drooping shutters hung in mute testimony to the atmosphere of evil that lurked inside; dark, giant windows on the upper story gaped like empty, taciturn eyes. Any sane being would know better than not to enter into such a foreboding house, and even the cat that had just ran past them seemed terrified, yowling sounds of pure terror.

The door begrudgingly creaked open. A musty, dank odour crept into their nose. The house was dead silence except for the intermittent creaks and moans. Blackish-brown mold dotted the ceiling in clusters, evident of rain seeping through the roof. They quietly entered the dark living room. The windows were covered with grime and dirt, and the calm moonlight struggled to penetrate the darkness in thin thread rays; sharp shadows roamed around the room; the abused sofa and chairs laid overturned, revealing deep grooves on the ground where they used to sit; a few strips of wallpaper laid curled on the floor; a large jagged hole gaped through the wall, as though daring any brave souls to enter; picture frames hung off-center.

They made their way back into the hallway, a sole ray of light came from behind a door. Amber approached and opened the door, with Henry close behind. It was the bathroom. The single window was mildly dirty, a flood of light flowed into the room. Dust swirled around the room as I made my way inside. The medicine cabinet mirror lay shattered in pieces on the floor tile. Empty medicine bottles lay in the porcelain sink. The only sound to be heard other than the rapid hammering of their heart against their chest is the drip, drip of the faucet. A closer look revealed the discoloration of the water, a brownish concoction. I sure hope it's just rust, Henry thought; shudders ran down his entire body. A lone mouse stood sentry at the bottom of the tub. Never having a visitor in a while, it curiously eyed them before scuttling away. Approaching the bathtub, a whiff of repulsively repelling aroma made its way to their nose. Pinching my nose, I leaned over and peered inside. Crusty rags filled the bathtub, little hints of movement underneath them. It would be unadvisable to see what is under the rags.

They arrived at the foot of the staircase. She stood and peered at the top, wondering when a twisted head monster will crawl down and have them for dinner. Slightly afraid, she pushed Henry in front of her and signalled for him to go up first.

"You know, I've been in front for quite a while. Why not you go up first?"

He hesitated and she leaned in closer to his ear and breathed. "Why? Are you actually, scared?"

No, I am not a coward. There are no such things as ghosts.  He summoned all his strength and weakly tiptoed his way up the stairs.  The creaking and steps intensified his apprehension — the fear that the next step would collapse under him with each further move.

Left or right? Well, the left looked more inviting, with considerably more light as compared to the eerie darkness of the right end.

'My dear children, don't go the wrong way...'

An almost taunting voice echoed creepily.

"Did you hear that?" He turned behind and was only met by the confused face of Amber that was dimly lit by the pearly moonlight.

"Eh? Hear what?" she asked, and he merely shook his head before turning back to face the corridor.

Uneasy, uncertain and unsure about what to do next, his impulsive instinct impugned his better judgment to run away. Rushing into a rash decision, the right choice would be to turn right and met the door that would seal his fate.

The door did not give way easily — a forceful push was needed. Stepping inside, a dresser seem to have been pushed against the door, attempting to deny anyone entry. They could make out the silhouette of queen-sized bed, edging in closer for a better look. The sheet was splattered with a dark color. The wind intensified outside, the rustling of the leaves and branches were louder. In the corner, the unused rocking chair began to move, rocking back and forth ever so subtly. The bare remnants of wallpaper showed a rather grand floral print. Angry streaks of red stretched across the wall where wallpaper used to stick. The carpet squished as Amber overtook Henry and walked further in. A misplaced grand bookcase stood in the corner of the room, undisturbed for a long time.

“Hey Henry! It's the bookcase! They say that if you take out the correct book, there’s a secret passage way that leads to unimaginable treasures!” Amber skipped over to the bookshelf as she survey all the books.

"Amber, I don't think it's a good i—" He was cut off as Amber turned behind to shush him. Amber’s excitement was simply out of place in such an oppressing, gloomy atmosphere. “I’m trying to find the correct book here! Why not you come over and help me?” She beckoned for him to come over, but all of a sudden, someone pulled him back. Or something.

An apparition, tall and glowing white on the moonlight-bathed balcony, suddenly appeared. His glowing eyes shone without pupils above his long, gaunt cheekbones. He held a white pillar candle, the dancing flame upright and strong, despite the whistling breeze. His fingernails resembled steak knives. He walked, or rather, floated in smoothly as he proceeded into the room, stopping right behind Henry.

She continued to make out the title of each book in the dimness, narrowing her options in the process. "Yah! Hurry up!" She turned behind, only to be greeted by the apparition laying his sleek fingers on her dear friend's neck.

A cacophony of high-pitched siren-like cackles erupted from the house's innards, as if the apparition was not the only one laughing.

“An enthusiastic brave soul I see here. Indeed, I applaud your courage.” Its voice was more of a sneer. Slowly he released his grip on Henry’s nape as he put the white candle on the dresser.

She stood rooted to the ground, petrified by the talking apparition.

“And I see that you are an interested contender for my, riches. May I know, your name, Courageous One?” He asked.

“N-Nah, it’s okay! My friend and I came in accidentally. I’m sorry for disturbing you. We’ll leave now.” She managed a hurried reply as she took a few steps closer to the door, but the door slammed itself shut.

“Uh uh uh, not so fast, young one.” He wiggled his finger playfully as a smirk plastered itself onto his pale face. “So, before the real thing begins, what’s your name?”

“No! Amber don’t!” Henry shouted as Amber opened .

“Ah I see, your name is Amber. What a pretty name.” He nodded as Henry cursed his own stupidity. “So, now, shall we begin?”

“Oh yes! I haven’t introduced myself. I’m sorry for being so rude!” Taking off his top hat, he bowed, as a magician would at the beginning of his show. “I am, the legendary magician, K.”

He clapped his hands twice and a cloud of white dense mist rushed into the room from a dark corner and covered the bookshelf.

“Welcome, to Mad Magic!” He announced with a dramatic hand gesture. “Today, we have a new contender! A pretty girl with a pretty name, Amber!” He smiled at his sole audience, Henry.

“Today, it won’t be the usual, picking books. Since she’s such a pretty lad, it’ll be a special challenge this time!” Little prickles of panic were chasing up and down her back as she felt her hair standing on its ends, at attention in perfect military formation and goose pimples carpeted across her skin.

“It’s Riddle Time!” He made yet another dramatic gesture. “Applause please?” He whispered, but Henry didn’t move.

“I said, APPLAUSE PLEASE.” He moved forward and their faces were barely inches apart. His breath was cold, ice cold, and for a moment Henry thought he was going to turn into an ice statue. He immediately clapped, as loudly as he could manage.

"Ahh that's better." Mr. K drew back and his gaze went back to Amber.

"So, the rules of the game are simple. 3 riddles, and if you guess them all correctly, you'll get to see the secret passage to all my riches." He smiled a baleful smile. "Let's begin now, shall we?"

He snapped his bony fingers and a card appeared in his hand. "Ah! The first one's easy." He waved his hand as if about to start a show.

"When I am young I am tall,

When I am old I am short.

I love to glow,

Breath is my foe."

"A candle?" She replied almost immediately, though her voice carried uncertainty.

"That's absolutely correct!" He smiled and his laughter echoed in the room. He picked up the candle from the dresser and lightly blew at the flame. It faltered for a while, but soon came back, burning strong as ever. "Candles are pretty, don't you think?" He gazed at Amber and she nodded subserviently.

"Aren't you going to clap for your friend? She did a marvelous job!" He questioned and Henry immediately put his hands together.

"Now, for the second riddle!" He cleared his throat.

"You struggle to regain me.

When I'm lost, you struggle to obtain me.

I pass no matter your will,

but I'm your slave to kill.

What am I?”

Henry jolted up. "The answer is t—" He was rudely cut off by the host as a threatening finger laid on his lips.

"Uh uh uh, no help from the audience is allowed. I'm sorry I forgot to mention that rule, because we don't usually have an audience, you see." He explained, a cunning expression smeared onto his wrinkly face.

"Time?" For once in her life has she ever felt so unsure.

"You clever girl! That is correct!" He grinned from ear to ear as he turned back to face Amber. "Actually,” he looked down at his fingers, twisting and intertwining them with each other, "do you wish you could reverse time, and never have come here?" He looked up to stare straight into Amber's fearful eyes.

"N-N-No! I-I'm having a g-great time h-here!" She lied, afraid to anger him.

"I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself here! Now, onto the last question!"

"The part of the bird

That is not in the sky;

Which can swim in the ocean

And always stay dry."

"I know this one! It's a shadow!" She replied almost instantaneously. Henry had once asked her the same riddle when they were 7. It was on his birthday, and she could almost hear the playfulness of his voice ringing in her ears.

"And that, is correct too!" He clapped for her, his claps echoed eerily in the room. "Congrats, you're actually the first one to be able to gain access to my treasure! Please say the magic word!" He gestured towards Henry.

"A-Abracadabra?" He said, after a moment of hesitation.

The white mist started to shuffle around the bookshelf, and soon, a passageway in the middle of the split bookshelf revealed itself.

"C-Can we go now?" She asked, eyeing the door discretely.

"Of course not! You’ve come so far, and you’re going to put all of your hard work to waste just like that?” He came closer to Amber and put an arm around her narrow shoulders. She froze.

“Now that you have seen my treasure, you can choose to take some!” He ushered her towards the dark alley. With every step closer she took, the white mist seemed to be beckoning her to come closer, almost hypnotising.

‘Take anything you want, but be wise, for there will always be a price.’

The whisper from nowhere sent chills down her spine.

“Amber! No! Don’t! It’s a trap!” Henry cried out from behind, but his words fell on deaf ears, as a pretty crystal caught her eye.

It glowed beautifully in the almost-darkness, further emphasizing its unique shade of golden orange as well as its translucence. She ventured closer towards it, picking up the delicate gemstone. There was a phenomenal aura that exuded from the fist-sized crystal, and it was simply overwhelming for the teenager.

“I see, you have picked the most exquisite of all gemstones, an amber. Are you sure you want it?” He bent down as he the other gemstones.

“Don’t ta-” Henry shouted, but something struck him harshly, causing him to stumble backwards a little.

“Can I have it?” She asked as she the contours of the jewel.

“Of course you may! But are you ready to pay the price?” He questioned her once more, and she promptly nodded.

THUD!

Instinctively, Amber turned behind, only to find Henry lying motionless on the ground. She ran to his side.

‘The price! Oh the heavy price!’

Voices echoed in perfect minor harmony, reminding her of the condition that she had so readily agreed to without even knowing. Her mother had always told her to read the fine print in everything she consented to, and she had followed her advice without fail, except for this one time.

Looking at her best friend that laid lifeless on the tattered wooden flooring, tears welled up in her eyes. “H-Henry,” She choked, “wake up!” But still he kept silent, eyes still staring blankly at the cobweb-filled ceiling.

“I don’t want this anymore!” She threw the jewel onto the floor with all the strength she could muster, and it shattered into a thousand pieces. “Now make him wake up!”

“Once broken, considered sold.” He said nonchalantly. “You had agreed to the terms and conditions of this exchange the moment you picked the gemstone up.”

“But you never told me what the price was!” She retorted, holding back the urge to slap the man, or spirit, whatever he was.

“You never asked.” He replied wittily, as he strolled over to the cupboard on the other side of the room. “Now, to add to my collection of souls.”

He took a queer-looking capsule out of the first drawer and opened the lid. The air in the room stirred a little as the capsule turned opaque white.

“A pure soul. Pure white indeed.” He smirked as he placed it back into the drawer.

“H-How could you? Y-you’re evil!” She was at a loss of words for such a heartless act. He had just stolen the soul of her best friend.

“Well, I guess I am. So many people have said that I am.” He shrugged nonchalantly, like he was used to it.

Unable to stand his beyond-weird antics anymore, she placed Henry’s hand over her shoulder and struggled to lift the 150-pound boy.

“Don’t you ever feel guilty?” She questioned him, in a vain attempt to appeal to his emotions (if he even had any), when she finally managed to raise the body and headed to the door.

“I have no guilt nor regret. With no regret, there is no guilt as much as without life there is no death. All who live must die. Every choice made has a consequence and every consequence a price. A price paid is a sacrifice made. You paid and I collected. A simple transaction nevertheless.” He proclaimed with a dramatic wave of his hand, as if washing away all the ‘humanness’ in him.

“No, it’s not! You will never feel things like happiness and love. You have been sad and lonely your entire life.” She retaliated. “Life is not a transaction, but a transition. We share and we give, growing together in love and adding value to each others’ lives. Give and take is not a transaction, but a process to which we build one another up. Yes! All who live must die, but we should not die in living. Finding the will to live begins with lifting the burden of consequence. We have regret and sorrow, but we also have friends to help us through these. You are just a lonely and selfish old man trapped in your own loveless world!”  

“Well said!” A heinous cackle that resounded of pure malevolence echoed hauntingly through the entire house.  Nodding and shaking his head, he retracted into obliviousness.

Amber dragged his body with her out of the room. Even as she proceeded down the stairs, the floorboards seemed to creak in unison with the laughter, pulsating mercilessly in her eardrums. It seemed to taunt her, for thinking that with a few simple sentences, she could change the non-existent heart of K.

I hope you've enjoyed reading this! >< omg does this even make sense lol idk

maybe a comment to tell me what you think? ;)